1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to elongated hand-held instruments or tools having a hook on at least one of its ends that is used for crocheting yarn, fibers, strands and/or other elongated filamentous material into two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes, specifically to a crochet hook with one or more elevation changes (raised protrusions and/or depressions) associated with the exterior surface of its elongated shaft that are designed and structured to provide ergonomic benefit to people using it, making the crochet hook more functional to hold with less risk of fingers and hands becoming prematurely tired, numb, or aching as a result of the repetitive motion inherent in crocheting activity, thereby facilitating crocheting activity and allowing it to take place with enhanced comfort, greater speed, and/or for longer periods of time than is currently possible with the commonly sold crochet hooks of today which have a smooth exterior surface, a centrally-located and flattened thumb gripping area, and a shaft with a circular cross-sectional configuration. The elevation changes of the present invention may begin from approximately one-and-one-eighth of an inch from the tip of its hook and extend longitudinally over the remaining portion of the shaft's exterior surface, or in the alternative extend at least through a distance of approximately three-and-one-half to four-and-one-half inches. They also extend laterally around the shaft to accommodate fingertips or portions of a hand that may be in contact with the underside portion of the shaft. Since a person does not hold onto the hook while creating new loops (or the tapering portion of the shaft immediately adjacent thereto), there would be little ergonomic benefit derived from placing elevation changes on (or close to) the hook of a present invention crochet hook, and elevation changes on or close to its hook are not preferred. Other reasons for not positioning raised protrusions and/or depressions positioned close to a present invention hook is that they might interfere with efficient loop creation and/or movement relating to the establishment of a proper/uniform gauge, and in addition, the use of depressions thereon might adversely affect the structural integrity of the tapered portion of the shaft. Crocheting activity typically involves, but is not limited to, the making of stitches or patterns by pulling new loops one-at-a-time (in varying combinations as needed) through one or more previously created loops, and then if such activity causes more than one loop to become associated with the crochet hook, removing excess loops from the crochet hook (one or more at a time) until only a single loop remains that can be tied off or used as a basis to continue the next stitch or pattern. Crocheting activity can be faster paced than knitting activity, particularly when working double and triple crochet patterns where several chain stitches are created in a rapid sequence and then secured to other loops or stitches. Consequently, the repeated back-and-forth motion (extension and flexion) of the fingers on the hand holding the crochet hook to change the orientation of the hook for its successful engagement with a strand positioned behind a work-in-progress, and then reorientation of the hook to draw that strand through a pre-existing loop, can be rapid and quickly fatigue the fingers and hands. Furthermore, the faster pace is crocheting may lead to increased pressure of a person's fingers and hands around a crochet hook, leading to premature numbness and fatigue. In addition, manipulation of the hook and strand to achieve uniform tension in the loops comprising a work-in-progress also fatigues fingers and hands, and is responsible at least in part for causing the diminished blood circulation condition commonly referred to as “pins and needles” that people crocheting also experience. When an overhand knife grip is used to hold a crochet hook, more wrist action is typically experienced for hook rotation and manipulation, however, when an underhand pencil grip is used, less wrist action and more finger movement is typically employed. Regardless of whether a knife or pencil grip is used, since a crochet hook must be securely held in the hand for rotation and/or other manipulation of the hook that allows it to draw a new loop through an existing one, pressure is continually exerted against the crochet hook shaft during crocheting activity by at least a portion of the user's fingers and hands, causing them to prematurely tire and experience diminished blood circulation. The present invention modifies its shaft through elevation changes (or elevation changes and differing non-circular cross-sectional configurations) to allow a user the opportunity to change finger and hand positioning along its shaft and thereby receive at least periodic relief. A centralized and flattened thumb grip area is a common feature on many crochet hooks currently sold (as well as on many crochet hooks passed from one generation to the next), and although it does place the hand of a person crocheting in an optimal orientation relative to the hook for its prompt and easy rotation during new loop creation, as well as place the hand holding it at a convenient distance from the hook for efficient and expeditious loop and pattern completion, the flattened thumb grip area also has the significant disadvantage of limiting hand and finger positioning primarily to the flattened thumb grip area and maintaining the crochet hook shaft in a substantially fixed orientation relative to the hand. It is this limited opportunity for hand positioning and the fixed orientation relative to the fingers and hand (in combination with the repetitive motion inherent in crocheting activity) that at least in part contributes to the hand stiffness and injury of people crocheting, beginners as well as those with more experience and those who like to crochet often. In contrast, the present invention elevation changes, including those replacing the flattened thumb grip area found on prior art crochet hooks, promote the opportunity for a user to consciously or subconsciously (out of habit) repeatedly achieve subtle and sometimes deliberate changes in hand positioning and orientation relative to the crochet hook shaft that provides sufficient differences in pressure between portions of the fingers and hands of a person crocheting and the crochet hook shaft to provide ergonomic relief, since as longitudinal, lateral, and/or rotational movement of the crochet hook shaft occurs, the fingers and hands of the person holding a present invention crochet hook will encounter different topography, thereby relieving (or at least lessening) the pressure exerted by the shaft against part or all of the finger and hand tissue that immediately thereto had been experiencing diminished blood circulation, giving it relief at least until the next longitudinal, lateral, and/or rotational shift in positioning occurs. Beneficial hand and finger movement may occur longitudinally along a present invention crochet hook shaft and/or laterally around it with variation in hand and finger positioning/alignment occurring as many times as is needed by the user to lessen the likelihood of the hands and fingers becoming prematurely tired and/or numb (or find a more comfortable hand and finger positioning), and in virtually any direction including diagonally (as long as the hook maintains a convenient orientation for easy and prompt new loop creation. Furthermore, the finger and hand movement is brief and non-distracting (sometimes occurring subconsciously), and does not affect the tension of loops incorporated into a work-in-progress. In addition, since crocheting is typically performed by people in a seated position with hands outstretched generally in front of them in a location where loop creation and manipulation can most readily and easily be observed, the arms, neck, shoulders, and back of a person crocheting can also become fatigued as time advances and the weight of a work-in-progress suspended from the person's hands increases.
In addition to the elevation changes used, present invention crochet hooks may also optionally comprise different non-circular cross-sectional configurations that are structured with softened edges/corners (and/or otherwise) to provide additional ergonomic benefit to people crocheting, such as the configuration of a triangle, in place of the traditional and non-ergonomic circular cross-sectional configuration historically and still most commonly used. The non-circular cross-sectional configuration may extend longitudinally from one end of the present invention crochet hook shaft to the other and is contemplated to extend fully around it to accommodate and provide relief for any hand or finger tissue in contact with the underside portion of the shaft. In the alternative, the non-circular cross-sectional configuration may extend the fill length of a present invention crochet hook shaft, or be positioned only in the area of the shaft most likely grasped during new loop creation (from a distance of approximately one-and-one-eighth inches to a maximum of approximately four-and-one-half inches from the attached hook), or have any positioning therebetween. Elevation changes in the present invention are purposefully arranged in patterns configured to space apart the contact areas created between the hands or fingers of a person crocheting and the elongated crochet hook shaft they hold so that non-contact areas adjacent thereto have sufficient size and spacing to allow enhanced blood circulation in the hand or finger tissue aligned with them. As a result, even though the blood circulation in some parts of the hands and fingers of a person crocheting becomes diminished as a result of holding and moving a present invention crochet hook shaft during new loop creation (those parts pressed against the most raised contact areas, which can be protrusions or portions of the exterior surface of the shaft), blood circulation in hand and finger tissue adjacent thereto remains less affected and is allowed to regain normal or near normal levels. Then, when the user consciously or subconsciously rotates hand and finger positioning and/or shifts it longitudinally or diagonally along a present invention shaft, the tissue previously experiencing diminished blood circulation is very often given immediate relief, while tissue adjacent thereto now comes into contact with higher elevation changes and has greater pressure exerted against it by the shaft. The hands and fingers of a person crocheting with a traditional crochet hook having a circular cross-section, uniform diameter, and smooth exterior surface is not provided with similar opportunities for blood circulation relief, as every time the smooth crochet hook shaft is re-grasped, the tissue in the fingers and hands encounter the same lack of surface topography and resulting uniform pressure against it. More than one size or shape of elevation change may be used at once on a present invention crochet hook shaft, for decorative accent as well as ergonomic benefit, and the spacing between adjacent elevation changes (identical, differing size, randomly spaced, and/or uniformly spaced) may also vary on each present invention crochet hook, in addition to being different from the spacing of elevation changes selected during manufacture for any other present invention crochet hook shaft. The present invention crochet hook shafts can also be made in different length and diameter dimensions, including standard crochet hook sizes, so as to not require the person crocheting to make any fundamental changes in crocheting habits to achieve the gauge recommendations displayed in currently available crocheting pattern books and/or other written instructional crocheting information. Furthermore, since new loop creation typically involves moving each loop fully onto a crochet hook shaft to achieve a correct gauge (or at least provide uniformity in the size of the loops made), appropriate accommodation for present invention elevation changes would be taken into consideration during manufacture of standard crochet hook sizes so that the needed gauge is present and not compromised.
2. Description of the Related Art
Crocheting is a creative activity that is frequently a labor of love enjoyed by those doing it, and those crocheting will commonly spend long periods of time on a work-in-progress for the creative stimulus or just because they enjoy doing it, sometimes to their physical detriment. Furthermore, people who enjoy crocheting will often continue it throughout their lifetime, even when arthritis and various joint problems experienced as they age make it more difficult to perform. A current and common complaint among people crocheting is that their hands and fingers frequently become tired and ache as a result of their crocheting activity, and the numbing condition of decreased circulation commonly referred to as the sensation of “pins and needles” also frequently occurs. However, most people crocheting enjoy the creative process enough that they are unwilling to stop crocheting even if temporary discomfort exists. Crocheting is also a widespread and longstanding activity, with the same crochet hooks having a circular cross-sectional configuration (most also having a centrally-located flattened grip area configured for engagement with the user's thumb and opposed index finger) being passed down in families from one generation to the next. Furthermore, crocheting is typically accomplished by a person in a seated position, with the crochet hook held in an elevated position at or above waist level for optimum visibility of loop formation, as one or more newly formed loops are pulled through one or more of the loops remaining on the hook to complete pattern steps. However, it is the same precise and consistent repetitive crocheting movement that admirably produces even tension and a uniform look in a finished crocheted piece (something that most people crocheting try to achieve) that causes (or at least contributes to) the tired, achy, and numbing of fingers and hands characteristic of many people devoted to crocheting. Also contributing to this problem, is the fact that during crocheting activity, the portion of the crocheted product located between the person's hands and lap is always hanging from the hook (usually growing steadily in size and weight), and it is suspended solely from the person's hands and fingers. As one can imagine, as it grows in size a large work-in-progress, such as but not limited to the front or back of an adult sweater or coat, a shawl or a poncho, or an afghan, will become quite heavy for the person's fingers to support, and will also eventually provide an adverse affect on the person's hands, arms, shoulders, and back if crocheting activity extends over a long period of time or is conducted repeatedly on successive days, particularly when heavier weight yarns are involved. Thus, by their devotion to crocheting activity over a period of years, a person crocheting can also risk repetitive motion injury such as carpal tunnel injury, arthritic pain, and/or permanent finger deformity.
Correct and consistent tension is an important aspect of crocheting that is needed to produce an even and aesthetically appealing look in many finished projects, as well as insure that a crocheted piece of clothing is true-to-size when printed instructions are followed, and the person crocheting must focus consciously or unconsciously (out of habit) on providing proper yarn/fiber/strand tension as new loops are pulled through the previously remaining loop or loops on the hook. However, providing proper tension also requires greater pressure of the hands and fingers of the person crocheting against a crochet hook shaft, and contributes to the person's continued discomfort and eventual injury. Another factor contributing to finger and hand injury in people crocheting is the flattened thumb grip area common to a large majority of the crochet hooks currently sold, which has the good purpose of maintaining the crochet hook shaft in a substantially fixed position relative to the hand for efficient hook manipulation. However, it also has the disadvantage of restricting hand and finger movement relative to the shaft, which due to the repetitive nature of crocheting activity can lead to premature hand and finger discomfort and injury. Also contributing to this discomfort and injury is the fact that a work-in-progress steadily becomes heavier as crocheting activity continues.
The inventor herein has sought a solution to the problem from three different approaches, first by focusing on possible changes to the crocheting process, second by focusing on possible changes to the person's hands, and third by focusing on possible changes to the crochet hook itself. Since crocheting activity as it is known today has been conducted for such a long time, and there are so many printed and published patterns available that a person crocheting would want to try in a new color or repeat in a different size, changing the fundamentals of the crocheting process appears to be a monumental task that would take a significant amount of time to bring into the mainstream. Therefore, this approach was not considered a viable alternative, since it would provide no immediate relief to people currently crocheting who are set in their ways. Changing the configuration of the hands of a person crocheting could involve padding, similar in concept to providing padded gloves to cyclists for numbness prevention in hands and forearms during long rides. However, the addition of padding or gloves to a person's fingers or hands while crocheting might make the fingers less flexible and lessen crocheting speed. Furthermore, the use of padding or gloves might not allow the yarn/fiber/strand applied by an index finger to slip easily over it and could have an adverse impact on tension. Additionally, padding or gloves would remove some of the tactile pleasure involved in the crocheting process, relating to the soft feel of some yarns or strands. Furthermore, padding and gloves would need periodic laundering so that they have no adverse affect on a work-in-progress, and the use of gloves may overheat a person crocheting unless made from breathable materials. Therefore it was concluded that even if padding or gloves were made available, most people crocheting would prefer to work without it, seeing the disadvantages outweighing the benefits.
The last approach considered by the inventor herein to reduce injury risk to the hands and fingers of people crocheting was to change the crochet hook itself. However, since the crochet hooks with a circular cross-section and a smooth exterior surface that were used by our grandparents and their ancestors, are still widely and commonly used today in spite of their tendency to cause discomfort with extended use, for a crochet hook modification that provides ergonomic benefit to become widely adopted, it would have to not radically change the way crochet hook shafts are held in the fingers and hand. In addition, the change cannot involve the use of soft and/or resilient materials on the hook or close to it, as the uniformity of loops would be more difficult to control, the tension and gauge of a finished product could be adversely affected, the speed of crocheting would most likely be reduced, and/or the ease of loop movement over the hook would be diminished. Also, the addition of rubber material with elasticity over the exterior surface of the center portion of a crochet hook shaft has been tried, and was disclosed in 1996 via Japanese patent abstract 10-131003 published May 19, 1998 in the name of Takagi Shosuke (for application number 08-307087 filed Nov. 1, 1996). However, the illustration on the Shosuke cover sheet shows the rubber material positioned over most of the flattened grip area configured for engagement with the user's thumb, forcing the user's fingers back away from the hook a significant distance that would make it difficult for the person to introduce new strands (and create new loops therewith) without repositioning at least some of the user's fingers into direct contact with the smooth exterior surface closer to the hook, which at least in part would defeat the purpose behind providing the rubber material for “improved comfort and workability”, as stated. Thus, to solve the problem of hand fatigue and the other problems experienced by people crocheting that are mentioned hereinabove, the present invention implements the use of resilient and/or non-resilient protrusions that extend upwardly beyond the exterior surface of a crochet hook shaft, depressions extending below the exterior surface of a crochet hook shaft, and/or other elevation changes associated with the exterior surfaces of its crochet hook shafts, at least in the areas thereof anticipated to be most commonly held by people crocheting during new loop creation (which typically extends from approximately one-and-one-eighth inches from the tip of its hook to approximately three-and-one-half to four-and-one-half inches from the hook, but may extend all of the way to the end of the shaft opposed from the hook). In addition, present invention crochet hook shafts may also optionally comprise ergonomically-enhancing cross-sectional configurations that are non-circular and distinct from the traditional crochet hook shafts commonly used. As a result, some present invention embodiments will comprise elevation changes on a circular cross-section crochet hook, whereas other present invention embodiments (such as but not limited to those involving the use of heavier weight yarns or where very small crochet hooks are involved that are difficult and tedious to hold) may require elevation changes and a shaft with a non-circular cross-sectional configuration to provide people crocheting with ergonomic benefit. Non-raised decorative markings can also be used on portions of the shaft, the hook, and/or the tapering work area adjacent to the hook, to complement or provide a contrast to the elevation changes used. In searching the Internet and retail stores for prior art changes to the traditional crochet hooks having a circular cross-sectional configuration, most crochet hooks found for sale still have the traditional circular cross-sectional configuration and a flattened grip area configured for engagement by the user's thumb and an opposed index finger.
In contrast, a search of the U.S. Patent Office database and the databases of several foreign patent offices and other patent organizations, reveals many variations of the traditionally used crochet hook that are configured for differing purposes, but none providing ergonomic structure or benefit similar to that provided by the present invention. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,114,354 to Dremann (2006) provides an internally illuminated knitting needle or crochet hook for working with dark yarns, U.S. Pat. No. 4,047,397 to Laliberte (1977) provides a crochet hook with a second hook in a position opposed to the hook used to make new loops (with the second hook providing a protected blade with a sharpened edge to use as a cutting means), and U.S. Pat. No. 6,668,597 to Robinson (2003) provides a crochet hook assembly resembling a circular knitting needle with a hook on each of its ends, an elongate flexible center, and at least one swivel. Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 4,846,351 to Gardiner (1989) discloses a knitting and crochet needle kit having multiple shafts and several removable end members each having a pointed or hooked configuration. Two other patent disclosures, U.S. Pat. No. 5,501,688 to Whiteside (1996) and Japanese patent abstract to Organ Needle Co., LTD, having the Publication Number 2008-036316 (published Feb. 21, 2008, for application number 2006-217856 filed Aug. 10, 2006), disclose devices with a hooked end member that are used in medical applications. However, neither of these medical hooks resembles the present invention or appears to have features similar to it. In addition, Japanese patent abstract to Takao Kiyoko, having the Publication Number 2001-248041 (published Sep. 14, 2001, for application number 2000-055525 filed Mar. 3, 2000), discloses a crochet hook attachable over the end of a person's finger, and the following U.S. patents each disclose a crochet hook having a widened shaft that resembles the widened body of an electric toothbrush [U.S. Design Pat. 382,702 to Matuo (1997), U.S. Design Pat. 548,453 to Mihara (2007), U.S. Design Pat. 259,523 to Hopper (1981), and U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,543 to Okada (1987)]. Furthermore, two crochet hook inventions with flattened and curved shafts, each simply entitled “crochet hook”, were disclosed in U.S. Design Pat. 401,759 to Marguerie (1998) and U.S. Design Pat. 256,629 to Keller (1980). The non-hooked end of the Keller invention appears to have a flattened but increasingly wide configuration when viewed from the side, perhaps for easier grasping during use and/or better balance in the hand. However, when viewed from the back it appears to have a decreasing taper toward its non-hooked end. In contrast, the Marguerie crochet hook is shown to have a handle with a very small thickness dimension relative to its width, and nine laterally-extending parallel lines visible on its front and back surfaces. A slight curvature visible in the Marguerie handle makes it appear that the parallel lines are used to achieve or facilitate such curvature, either during manufacture or by the end user. Also, the oversized hook attached to the Marguerie crochet hook shaft does not make it appear that the Marguerie crochet hook is contemplated for typical crocheting activity, and may be instead contemplated for hair styling or coloring, and/or other applications. Patents to only one inventor, Hidekazu Okada were found to provide surface modification to crochet hooks. U.S. Design Pat. D273,347 to Okada (1984) and U.S. Design Pat. D270,783 to Okada (1983) each respectively show a crochet hook having a plurality of closely and evenly spaced-apart longitudinally-extending markings in parallel relationship to one another, as well as a plurality of closely and evenly spaced-apart laterally-extending markings in parallel relationship to one another that together form a checkerboard pattern and appearance. The two Okada crochet hooks ('347 and '783) also each have a flattened grip area configured for engagement with the user's thumb and opposed index finger that starts centrally and extends toward the hook. The main visible difference between the two Okada crochet hooks is that the checkerboard markings start at the non-working end of the Okada '783 invention and stop just before reaching the flattened thumb grip area, while the checkerboard markings in the Okada '347 invention start at the non-working end and continue close to and just beyond the flattened thumb grip area. However, the Okada inventions ('347 and '783) do not have the checkerboard markings extending across the flattened thumb grip area, and as a result provide no ergonomic advantage toward relieving the pressure exerted by the flattened thumb grip area against fingers and hand by the crochet hook shaft, which instead of providing ergonomic relief to a user, advantageously fixes the user's hand and fingers in an appropriate orientation relative to the hook for crocheting activity, while at the same time adversely maintaining the crochet hook shaft in a substantially fixed position relative to the hand, providing a result opposite to the present invention, which conversely to the Okada inventions encourages opportunities to provide a variety of movement for a user's fingers and hands relative to its crochet hook shaft and thereby provide ergonomic benefit thereto. Thus, in contrast to the Okada inventions, the present invention comprises elevations changes that start approximately one-and-one-eighth inches from the hook of a crochet hook shaft and extend toward the non-hooked end a longitudinal distance of at least three inches. The exterior surface of a present invention crochet hook shaft also provides elevation changes that extend in a lateral direction fully around it, and no flattened thumb grip area is employed. Furthermore, since crocheting activity involves repeated back-and-forth rotation of the hook, a first rotation of the hook that allows easier insertion into a prior loop and then a second reverse rotation of similar amplitude for snag-free withdrawal of a strand through the prior loop to form a new loop, the flattened thumb grip area on the Okada inventions would cause fixed positioning of a user's fingers against it during new loop creation, and result in premature hand and finger fatigue, whereas the substitution of elevation changes for the flattened thumb grip area, as in the present invention, gives its users the opportunity to occasionally rotate the crochet hook shaft relative to their fingers during new loop creation, thereby bringing differing elevational structure/topography in contact with the skin on the user's fingers and hands, and pressure relief to areas previously experiencing decreased blood circulation, allowing the user to crochet longer, in greater comfort, and with less risk of sustained injury to the fingers and hands. Furthermore, substitution of elevation changes for the flattened thumb grip area in the present invention crochet hooks allows for occasional longitudinal, lateral, and/or diagonal movement of the user's fingers and hand relative to the exterior surface of the crochet hook shaft, providing more opportunity for conscious or unconscious repositioning of the fingers and hands relative to the crochet hook shaft so that the areas of greatest pressure against the user's fingers and hands is allowed to vary. Thus, the checkerboard pattern provided in the Okada inventions in the positions shown cannot provide the same ergonomic benefit experienced during present invention use, since in combination with the flattened thumb grip area it inherently works to restrict the user's finger and hand positioning relative to the crochet hook shaft, which promotes (and does not lessen) the risk of injury to a user's hands and fingers. Furthermore, the close spacing and uniformity of the checkerboard line spacing shown in the two Okada inventions would not be likely to provide much ergonomic relief to a person crocheting, as when they would re-grasp an Okada crochet hook shaft, the contact points between the person's hand and the shaft would more often than not be very close to that used prior to crochet hook release, providing little or no long term circulatory relief. Thus, the Okada inventions do not appear to provide the same disclosure as the present invention. Furthermore, no apparatus or method for crocheting activity is known that functions in the same manner, has all of the same features and components, or provides all of the ergonomic, decorative, convenience, and other advantages of the present invention.